How to pray like a Catholic?

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analiffey

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I am immensely pro-Catholic, and wish to convert. I have learned to pray the Rosary and I am curious why you say Hail Mary so many times? I understand why you pray to Mary, but why do you pray it so many times? Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to pray the Glory Be or Our Father ten times in a row?
Also, is there a certain way to pray the Rosary? Do you need to be kneeling? I always pray it while I’m laying in bed, right before I fall asleep. Do you ever say your personal prayers when praying the rosary, and when you do pray your personal prayers, how do you say them? Is it offensive to you if a Protestant prays to Mary or uses the Rosary (I really hope not, because that’s what I’ve been doing…)

Sorry for the load of questions…
 
The Hail Marys provide a background for meditating on the Holy Mysteries.

We don’t mind if a Protestant prays on the Rosary as long as he is respectful. Many Anglicans pray some version of the Rosary. Some of them say Our Fathers instead of Hail Marys.

Catholics have dozens, probably hundreds, or ways of making personal prayers. Some during the Rosary and some not. The important thing is that you pray regularly, not how you pray.
 
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analiffey said:
I understand why you pray to Mary, but why do you pray it so many times? Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to pray the Glory Be or Our Father ten times in a row?
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The Hail Mary prayer is not said to glorify Mary. The Hail Mary is firstly about the awesome love and power of God. It is about the incarnation… that moment when God chose to make himself incarnate for our salvation.

What does it mean when the angel says “Hail, Full of Grace”? God reached down through eternity and sanctified her for a greater purpose! Why is Mary “blessed among women?” Before the beginning of time, she was chosen by God to carry Jesus!

Really reflect on what these acts of God mean for us. Was it inappropriate for the angel to call her “Full of Grace” instead of Mary? Was it wrong for St. Elizabeth to acknowledge how blessed Mary was to be carrying the Lord in her womb? In acknowledging the reality of the incarnation, we give glory to God.

Then, the second half of the prayer asks for Mary’s intercession. Of course, someone so highly favored by God would be a powerful intercessor in heaven. Again, not because of her in and of herself. Rather, because God has graced her to be a powerful conduit of grace.

So, the Hail Mary prayer is a fitting backdrop to the mysteries of the Rosary because like the prayer itself, each mystery illuminates something about Jesus and the awesome love and power of God.

Having said that, Bear is quite right that you can choose to say a different prayer. The rosary is a private devotion. We can make changes to suit our spiritual needs.
 
Thank you, this helps a lot! I now understand. All that being said about Mary, I feel like most other churches don’t honor her enough!
 
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